


Rekindling

by onigiri5



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Some Fluff, Years after graduating, being a grown up sucks, some drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-21 02:13:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15547329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onigiri5/pseuds/onigiri5
Summary: A jaded Amanda finds herself in a familiar town where she runs into an old friend. Will she help Amanda escape from boredom or will something else come out between the two of them?





	1. Chance Encounters On Snowy Nights

Boredom was an understatement. There must be a word above it. Unfortunately, Amanda didn’t have the expanded vocabulary of a noble English witch to convey the sort of mixed feelings of jadedness, indifference, listlessness, and…. Her mind wandered again. Her eyes rolled, adrift from the monotone of business jargon. She glanced over every word longer than three syllables, and soon, the plus sized executive in front of her appeared to be an amorphous blob in a suit. A nudge on her rib planted her squarely back to the uncomfortable wooden chair where her physical half sat.

It was an all too familiar scenario for the American witch—a business transaction led by her brother where she was forced to tag along to get a feel for the client, because she happened to be the family clairvoyant now. Emphasis on the word “forced”. Clairvoyance was apparently something that witches in her family excelled at and even used as a way to gain the upper hand in business deals. It was practically the reason why O’Neils went from having a small business to a giant supplier in the span of a generation.

Amanda didn’t give a damn about it though.

She didn’t give a damn when she got enrolled to Luna Nova to hone her powers. She didn’t give a damn when she barely graduated. She certainly didn’t give a damn about what to do next, so she ended up being coerced as the next family clairvoyant.

Again, Amanda didn’t really want to do with any of it, mostly because _it’s so damn boring_ . When she started, she thought that she could stick around for a year or two doing this, make some quick money and then maybe she can move on and do… anything really! Anything but talking to fat blobs in suits, getting stuck in hours long conferences, visiting supply chains to check up on inventory. _Anything_! That was five years ago, anyway.

She stood up. She couldn’t take it anymore. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because she was tired of looking at the fat, mouth breathing slob. Maybe it was because she has had enough of her brother’s incessant whines. Maybe it was because beyond the four walls that barely contained her rage, was Blytonbury, the town that she used to roam in her years as a Luna Nova student. Whatever it was, it pushed Amanda to walk out, despite the protests of her brother.

* * *

 

The biting cold of English winter was strangely refreshing to Amanda. She blew and watched her breath dissipate into the frigid air. In the meantime, she ignored her brother, who just caught up to her after he stormed and followed her outside. He inundated her right ear with rebukes about all the sort of things Amanda did wrong.

_Blah, blah, blah, acting proper to clients, securing the sales, blah blah..._

She nodded anyway, just to make him think that she was paying attention. Her mind was already set on getting a drink and the thought of a nearby pub made her increase her pace.

“You know what, how about we talk about this in the morning? I’m pretty tired.” Amanda feigned exhaustion and drove the point with a loud, overbearing, fake yawn.

Her brother stood silently seething and unable to respond. Despite being somewhat of a slave to the family business, Amanda still had them under her thumb. Being the sole heiress to her grandmother’s clairvoyant powers has its perks. With that in mind, Amanda continued on and waved half-heartedly at her brother.

“I’m just gonna reminisce for a while.”

Amanda slowed her pace when her brother was out of sight. She wanted to take in as much of the scenery as possible. Despite not having set foot in Blytonbury in years, it hasn’t changed one bit. Everything was how she remembered it: the sweet shops, the magic item emporium, even the bookstores that she hated. Perhaps what struck her the most were the occasional Luna Nova students.They stood out on the crowded streets with their pointed hats and dark blue overcoats. The giggles and the chatter of the student witches weighed down on Amanda. Those carefree days filled with friends and adventure were still vivid in her mind and yet they were so distant, like the gray sky above her. The yearning made Amanda’s chest ache.

She let out a deep and frustrated sigh, shook her head, and brushed her pink hair with her fingers. It was a bit longer now, but still short enough to slick back and make herself look “proper”. Reminiscing was supposed to cheer her up, not make her feel like _complete and utter shit_. She kicked some snow from the sidewalk and continued. She hoped that drinks will get her through the night.

As the winter sun subsided and the the early evening sky swept across the town, the street lamps lit one by one. It was snowing by the time Amanda reached the front steps of the raucous pub. The muffled sound of music and laughter emanated from beyond the old wooden door. With great anticipation for alcohol, she twisted the knob open and was greeted by the warm embrace coming from the hearth. She slid off her snow laced overcoat and took a seat at the bar, by some gentlemen who appeared to have had one too many drinks already.

Amanda stretched her arms forward, careful not to tear any seams off her suit. It was an expensive suit after all and her favorite one at that. She scanned ahead of her and hoped to see a bartender among the ceiling high forest of bottled spirits and such, but found no one. Instead, there was only a head of blue and a familiar red ribbon. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes grew wide. The diminutive bartender mixed cocktails with subtle dexterity and when she was done, she had to lift the drink all the way over her head and to her customer, who thanked her heartily.

Yes, it was no doubt her old friend and roommate.

“Cons?” Amanda’s grin was wide and her heart raced.

Constanze’s ears perked up at the sound of her nickname. She spun her head so quickly that it looked like she was about to break her neck. When she met Amanda’s bewildered face, she gave a rare, warm smile.  

“Whoa! Cons it really is you! What are you doing in a place like this?” Amanda excitedly stood up and slapped her hands on the wooden counter.

The German witch nodded as she cleaned an oversized beer mug with a white cloth. Her smile quickly disappeared however as she pointed to a sign.

 

**_Bartender only listens to your miseries. Doesn’t give advice._ **

 

“Oh,” Amanda chuckled. “Guess you’re still the same as always.” In more ways the one, Amanda continued in her thoughts but couldn’t hide a small chuckle.

Constanze looked about the same height as when they graduated from Luna Nova. She actually didn’t look like she aged much at all. Her tiny hands continued to work expertly on whatever they touched, be it machinery or alcohol. Amanda stared deeply at her former roommate as she mixed drinks, poured beer into mugs twice the size of her head, among other things.

_Thunk!_

Amanda almost jumped out of her seat as Constanze slammed a stein full of frothing amber liquid in front of her. She winked at Amanda as if telling her “this one’s on the house.”

“Thanks, Cons!” Amanda reaffirmed her thanks with a wide smile, took a sip of the fresh brew and felt its warmth coursing through her. With her chin rested on her hand, she continued to observe her old friend, who jumped from one customer to the next, wordlessly served them, and made a nod every time she was thanked.  Occasionally she got some beer in her hands (to which she dried them with her tiny, green apron.) Watching her zip around was entrancing in a way.

“You a friend of the young missy?” A pub patron beside Amanda asked, which snapped her out of her trance.

“Yeah. She was my roommate at Luna Nova.” Amanda took a large gulp of her ale.

“That witch school, eh?” The older gentlemen scratched his beard. “Come to think of it, the young missy right there is still doing some schooling. A witch university from what I hear. Doing some engineering or something of that sort.”

Amanda nodded in reply. Some time passed since she last spoke to anyone from Luna Nova. Everyone made a promise to keep in touch, but the physical distance and the busy jobs made it difficult to connect to friends. She only knew about Cons’ interest in advancing her interest in magical engineering, but she didn’t know that she went ahead and enrolled into a big witch university nearby.

_Thunk!_

Another stein filled with ale landed next to Amanda’s half finished one, its bubbles raced from the bottom and all the way to the top. She turned to thank Constanze, but she already moved on to the next customer.

“This one’s on me, ma’am.” The older gentlemen chirped. “Anybody who makes the young missy smile like that deserves a drink from me.”

Amanda’s eyes gleamed at the amount of alcohol in front of her. “Thanks, mister!” She figured that she needed to get smashed tonight anyway and finished her first of many mugs for the night.

 


	2. Hangovers and the People That Help You Deal With Them

The soft clinking of metal on metal stirred Amanda awake. She opened an eyelid to see where the source of the noise was coming from, only to be met with piercing and blinding morning light. A groan escaped her throat as she turned to cover herself with a blanket and curl up in a fetal position.

_Ugh._

Familiar pain smashed through her temples. Her throat burned. Her stomach twisted into knots. She was hung over. The soft clinking reverberated within her skull, as if her brain broke and the pieces danced in her head, just to spite her for getting _absolutely wasted_ last night. What the hell did she even do after the fifth pint? She tried to recall anything but found nothing, not even a blur of memories.

There was a soft tug on her blanket, which made Amanda raise her head from her painful sanctuary. She opened one eye and let it focus. There, stood a small, gray person. No, a robot? Stanbot to be precise. The dull metal coat and the oversized rectangle of a  head gave it away. It pointed at a glass of water and a pill on the floor.

“Go drink now.”

Amanda nodded slowly, careful not to rattle her brain any further. The water was soothing, as it made its way down her parched throat. Her head still hurt, but it made her relax and get a sense of where the hell she ended up after last night.

The flat was small, furnished only by a stove, a small fridge, a radiator, and a couch currently occupied by Amanda. Despite the minimal furnishing, it was rather cramped since the floor was filled with scattered tools as well as machine parts. The wall shelves were filled with various machinery, some look gutted with missing parts, some look utterly destroyed. Her suit hung nearby, still neat and wrinkle-free.

In midst of it all was Constanze. She sat facing windows frosted by the cold, silently tinkering with her machines. Each twist of her wrench produced the soft clinks. Nostalgia tugged at Amanda’s chest and made her lips curl into a smile, despite the pounding headache. With her elbows supporting her, she called out to her friend.

“Hey, Cons!”

The German witch turned her head with oversized goggles obscuring her eyes. She lifted them to reveal her blue eyes, unchanged and still the way Amanda remembered them. She gave a smile so warm that Amanda realized how cold it was. She was only wearing a tank top and shorts after all, in the middle of British winter nonetheless. It must be because Constanze took her suit off so it doesn’t get wrinkled. Now that she thought about it...

Amanda pulled the wool blanket over her shoulders and above her mouth to hide her uncharacteristically scarlet face. Eyes averted, she didn’t notice Constanze make a few quick strides to her side. She took off a glove and placed her hand on Amanda’s forehead, as if to check on her temperature. Her cold touch felt jarring to Amanda, yet soothing.

“I’m fine, thanks Cons. Just a little hung over.”

Constanze nodded in satisfaction. She placed her hands on her hips and gave the impression that she’s was the one in charge as long as Amanda’s sleeping on her couch. Although the sight of a tiny witch in oversized overalls stained with dust and grease wasn’t very authoritarian at all. More adorable, really.

“So, um…” Amanda hesitated. Awkwardness aside, there was still the matter of how the hell she got here. It dawned on her that Constanze must have carried (or dragged) her all the way from the pub and to her apartment. Not to mention the undressing part. Amanda wasn’t sure where to begin, but she took the plunge anyway.

“Thanks for taking care of me. I swear I was going to go back to my hotel after the whole mess at the pub. Didn’t mean to bother you and all.”

Constanze shrugged in reply.

“Just relax!” Amanda had almost forgotten that Stanbot was still there. It took the empty glass away and trod off to put it… somewhere…

Constanze’s flat was a serious mess that Amanda was unsure as to where she even kept her kitchen utensils or miscellaneous essentials. Not that it mattered right now. Amanda just wanted to rest. She relaxed her shoulders and leaned on the couch arm rest.

“Right, I think I’ll just chill for a few minutes and I’ll get going.”

The smaller witch nodded but Amanda couldn’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment in her eyes. It gripped at Amanda. It was rare to see Constanze show some sort of visible reaction to anything, rarer still to see her disappointed.

“Actually, uh, Cons. If you don’t mind, can I hang out for a bit?” Amanda had no plans anyway. Well, there was that business meeting that she ditched. To hell with it. They’re won’t be missing her.

Constanze’s face lit up after she heard Amanda’s change of heart. She nodded again, but this time more energetically.

* * *

 

Amanda liked to watch Constanze work. The sound of the tools clinking, the occasional magic welding, and the smell of machine grease was strangely soothing. Her headache slowly melted away as she watched Constanze’s back against the snowy backdrop. It almost made her look isolated. Maybe that was why she looked so disappointed when Amanda said that she was going to leave right away. It must feel absolutely lonely, even for a witch who preferred to work alone.

“Hey Cons, I heard you’re going to a magic engineering school. How’s that treating you?” Amanda wanted to break the ice and catch up. The headache had subsided by now anyway.

Constanze nodded her head without turning to look at Amanda, something that she always did, even back when the two were student witches. She grunted as her reply but Amanda can only assume that she has been busy, especially with all her projects adorned on the walls. Not to mention her part time job as a bartender of all things.

That was surely something, Amanda thought to herself. Almost comedic in a way, especially for someone as quiet as Constanze working in a social setting.

“I bet you’ve been wondering what the hell I’ve been up to, huh?”

Constanze turned her head and nodded in reply. She was back to her naturally stoic state.

Amanda played with her hair, twirling strands with her fingers. “I’ve kinda been helping my family with work.” She sighed. “Well, more like I just get dragged around to do things that I don’t give a shit about.”

The smaller witch grunted a reply, reassuring Amanda that she was still listening.

“You know, the whole clairvoyance thing? The reason why I was in that shithole school in the first place? Well…” Amanda trailed off, unsure how to explain to her friend her situation. “Well, I’m not really good at it. I kinda pull shit out of my ass sometimes.”

Amanda paused and watched Constanze for a reaction. Maybe Amanda was looking to her as some sort of validation for her actions. Nevertheless, the smaller witch stayed silent, but gave a nod as if she wanted Amanda to continue.

“I dunno. I feel bad when I think about it but at the same time, I don’t give a shit about it because I hate it when my family drags me around like some … tool of theirs.” Amanda leaned back with her arms supporting her head. “I just wanna do something else and maybe do something that makes me happy, y’know.”

Amanda looked around the messy room and out through the window where the rooftops of Blytonbury were in full view. She thought about Constanze’s daily life, living in this flat: how she focuses on her studies, how she sustains them, and most importantly, how she does the things that she likes.

“Hey, Cons. Are you happy the way you are now?”

She nodded without hesitation.

“I was thinking…” It dawned on Amanda that she could do something to help her friend. “Maybe, you know, if you don’t mind….”

Constanze stood up, and from the corner of the room, grabbed something. It was a short handled broom and dust pan. She walked over to Amanda, who was speechless by now.

“Uh… I guess you read my mind.”

* * *

 

What Amanda had in mind was to help Constanze with cleaning her apartment. It wasn’t really something that she liked to do (and frankly, it brought up horrible memories from Luna Nova), but if it was for the sake of her friend, she’d gladly do it. Plus, it was something to get her mind off her family. Amanda thought all of this as she lifted piles of rubbish and threw them into boxes. She wiped sweat off her brow and thought about how it felt like they didn’t even need a radiator with all the work they’ve been doing.

Amanda looked over at Constanze, who smiled eagerly at her flat, which looked a lot more proper by the minute.

“I think we should take a break. I’m kinda beat.” Amanda exhaled deeply and sat on the floor. Constanze sat next to her, who also exhaled. Both witches leaned back as Stanbot came trodding in with a plate with two glasses of water.

As Amanda admired the nearly cleaned flat, she came across her suit, still hanging on one of the shelves. She remembered something and rushed up to her pants pocket. Looking at her phone, she laughed at the several missed messages and voicemails left on her phone.

“Hah, figures.” She chuckled as she showed her phone to a curious Constanze. “I bet they’re looking for me. I’ll just tell my brother where I’m at and go meet up with him later.”

Amanda felt a tug on her tank top as she finished her message to her brother. She turned around to see a concerned Constanze. Of course, she still had a stoic look, but the way she frowned gave away her emotions.

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it. I get a lot of shit but they can’t do much anyway.” Amanda laughed it off but Constanze’s expression didn’t change. Instead, the smaller witch grabbed Amanda’s wrist and looked down.

Amanda realized that there was more to Constanze’s concerns. The cleaning may have been one prolonged chore, but it must have been a change of pace for her as much as it was for Amanda. Being alone again would’ve have been painful for Constanze.

“Say, you want me to stay for a while, don’t you?”

Constanze looked up, shocked, but unable to contain her smile. She nodded furiously, still holding on to Amanda’s wrist.

“Alright, alright!” Amanda didn’t know it, but she had a wide grin on her too. “I’ll just go over to my hotel to grab my stuff!” This was something that she really needed.

* * *

 

_“Where the hell have you been?”_

“None of your business, bro.” Amanda swung her duffel bag over her shoulder as she walked out of her hotel room.

“Better yet, where the hell are you going?” Her brother was furious. She had never seen him with this expression before. Veins were visible along his temples and he was an exquisite shade of bright red. It was humorous, actually and Amanda couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

“Just going on a vacation, bro. Just tell granny that I’ll be back in like… a week or two.” She gave a dismissive wave as she started down the hallway to the elevators. She could only imagine her brother’s tomato-red face. She was tempted to turn around to look at him, actually. Instead, she just grinned to herself as the silence of her fuming brother indicated that she had won this battle.

The chime signalled the elevator’s arrival and Amanda stepped in, her back still faced her brother. The doors closed and she looked ahead to spending some time with Constanze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constanze was ... a bit challenging to write. Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Some fluff for the next chapter, I guess.

**Author's Note:**

> I can already feel the pain of trying to write someone like Constanze. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! I wanted to write about Amanda's background, which was only discussed in interviews with Yoshinari as well as the manga, for some time now. I just thought it was interesting and it's a tragedy that it wasn't utilized at all int he anime. Maybe in a future season? We can only hope. There were some spots that I think are a little rough, so I'm not too happy with this chapter. Hopefully the following chapter makes up for it and I hope you guys stick around for that. Comments and criticisms are appreciated!


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